Awesome hike. The way up is almost as enjoyable as the view at the top. Slick in many places. We started by 9 and didn’t see too many people. We also did Horsethief and checked out the frozen waterfall. A great day.

Easy to follow the entire way. Absolutely stunning views by the pancake rocks. Some of the nicest hikers and dog-friendly folk I've yet encountered. What a great surprise it was like a fall day in February.

This is an easy trail to find (trailhead is next to a short train tunnel on the side of the road). It is a relatively steep trail but very well marked and relatively well traveled. We typically carry up a lunch with us and sit on the rocks overlooking the valley. It has been an annual hike for us for the last 12 years on vacation and will continue to be so.

Please respect the trail rules and keep dogs on leash. We passed 3 people today with dogs off leash and I️t was extremely frustrating. Our dog panics when others are off leash and she is confined to a leash. She actually got tangled and fell off the side of the mountain after someone didn’t have their pet on a leash. She flipped and slid 30 feet down while tangled. Of course the people who had their dog off leash didn’t even stop to help. Your endangering other people and animals in these snowy and slick conditions.

Tree covered hike up to Pancake Rocks.. elevation gain is consistent so beware if you're not acclimated to the altitude or the continuous upward hike. Views are incredible! (Beware of birds who will "stalk" you for food.)

Loved this hike! Great views and a lot to see. Keep going if you feel like it’s about time to turn around before you get to pancake rock. Gets to a point where you don’t think you’re going the right way but you are! Met some other people while on the trail who felt the same. Happy hiking!

Amazing hike for the fall time, beautiful views. Listen to your body, you're up over 10,000 ft, no reason to push it. Parts really suck because of the elevation climb, but the scenery makes it so worth it. It took us 5 hours to do all of it and to explore for a good hour. Cant wait to go back.

Hiked 9/21/17
Brutal elevation gain from the start. Great views west and south with plenty of fall colors to see as well. Might as well include the falls on your trip, not as heavy as ive seen it in the past but the water was delicious.

Nice hike! Hiked Pancake Rocks Trail first and took Horsethief Falls Trail on way back. Its a short distance from the split of the two trails to the falls. The Trails are on the west side of Pikes Peak and are part of the Ring The Peak trail system. From the Parking lot to completion of both trails back to parking lot, is approximately 7 miles. Have a great Hike!

Difficult hike to pancake rocks- uphill switchbacks for about a mile and a half, flat and then uphill again. The view is well worth the hike! There is also a half mile option to go see the waterfall (horsethief falls) - rushing and quite relaxing. I recommend doing the pancake rocks hike and then coming back down and relaxing by the waterfall to cool off. Careful of elevation! Shaded for the most part.

Great hike! It's quiet and shaded! The very start of the hike is challenging with switchbacks and continuous uphill but it flattens out a bit after about 10mins or so. We took the 1/2 mile (1mile RT) detour to Horsethief falls and it was well worth it! Rushing waterfall in August! Then we made our way up to Pancake rock! This is the hard part - it's continuous uphill with switchbacks! It seems to last for about a Mille! Then there's about another mile of relaxing hiking until you get to the rocks. You will descend for a short time as well. The trail was full of a variety of mushrooms! It is Dog Friendly! You do hike up to about 11,000 ft so be cautious of the elevation!

Started at about 9am and went to the falls first. Didn't see anyone on that part of the trail, but the bit heading to Pancake Rocks was more well trafficked. The switchbacks were challenging, but I would consider it on the hard side of moderate. Some pretty views on the way up to the rocks! The rocks themselves are a nice place for lunch and open views of the area. Lots of fun varieties of mushrooms to see as well :)

Pleasant hike. Terrain isn't too steep and trail is easy to follow without getting lost. View from the top is beautiful too. Would give 5 stars if not for the name. The pancake rocks didn't even look like pancakes, like has the person who named the rocks even had pancakes before? If so they must have been some pretty crappy pancakes. Pancakes are meant to be thin and circular, and the rocks look more like big fat deer turds or marshmallows. Smores rocks would've been more appropriate. If you're expecting to find a perfect golden IHOP stack of pancake looking rocks at the end of this hike, you will be disappointed.

Beautiful hike! Started at 715am, first ones on the trail ☺ the switch backs were rough but worth It! Took our time going up, hit the falls on the way down. Will be back in the fall. people after us didn't pack out their trash, so many dog shit bags and plastic bottles - keep CO beautiful people ✌

Trip report 7/07/17. Great hike with some beautiful views. I did the hike to pancake rocks. The rock formations do look like stacks of pancakes! I agree with other reviewers that the hike is listed as hard because on the uphill haul. It is not technically very difficult, just uphill switchbacks. I am not in great shape and was able to complete the hike. I just took my time. There were a couple of sections on the downhill return that some people might like to have their trekking poles- loose marble granite etc. I started at 9am and had a pretty solitary hike for most of it, although the parking lot was full when I got there. Most of the hike is through the forest. The shade was nice. Like other reviewers suggest, go early or on a week day if you can, I suspect this trail is packed on the weekends. Also, storm moved in while I was out there with some hail - be mindful of the weather changes.

great hike, great views. Started out about 8AM and it was a tad chilly nut with the good climb right out of the shoot we warmed up quickly. It leveled off before the horse thief pancake rock split, after taking the pancake trail the climb started right back up for a mile or so. Once you hit the top some nice views await. We had a bunch of haze frome the Breckenridge fire so seeing the collegiate peaks was difficult. About another mile to the rocks themselves, we spent about an hr exploring. On the way back we went to the falls, it was a nice little detour. the temp really dropped once we got back there.

That early on a thursday we saw only one other person so that was nice. on the way down we ran into a bunch of groups and the parking area was packed, i recommend getting there early.